Dye-doped zirconia-based Ormosil planar waveguides: optical properties and surface morphology

Abstract Zirconia-based Ormosil planar waveguides with different ZrO 2 contents were produced by a low temperature sol–gel process and subsequent spin coating on microscope glass slides. Propagation losses as low as 0.5 dB/cm or less were found at 488 nm for films with low ZrO 2 content; in contrast, worse waveguide quality was observed with increasing ZrO 2 doping level. A morphological investigation by atomic force microscopy confirmed such result, giving evidence of an increase of surface roughness with ZrO 2 percentage. The feasibility of organic dye doping of the films for active waveguides was also demonstrated by incorporation of DODCI saturable absorber: fluorescence spectra were registered both in bulk and guided-wave configuration.